Mount Union defeats Heidelberg 50-14

Tuesday

Oct 11, 2016 at 4:00 AM

By JEFFREY ZUPANIC jzupanic@the-review.com

Mount Union head coach Vince Kehres described running back Dwayne Aaron as a "tough, ready to go young man who has persevered his way into playing time" after an impressive day running the football Saturday afternoon.

Kehres' quote could also be attributed to any number of Purple Raiders, whom he felt took a big step following a 50-14 win over Heidelberg at Mount Union Stadium. Mount Union almost had two backs ran for over 100 yards, the freshman quarterbacks continue to improve and the defense got nasty in the second half to blow the game open.

The Purple Raiders led 21-14 at halftime and allowed 228 yards to the Student Prince. When the game ended, Heidelberg still had those 14 points and didn't add too much to its yardage total with just 31 total yards in the second half and minus-2 yards in the fourth quarter. Sophomore linebacker Danny Robinson and junior linebacker Charlie Dear each had 12 tackles.

"We made some adjustments at halftime when (defensive coordiantor) coach (Chris) Kappas made a minor scheme change and it put us in better position for the second half," said Robinson.

The Purple Raiders got an interception from cornerback Kollyn Crenshaw, who was starting in place of the injured Louis Berry for the second straight game. Senior linebacker Dashon Redman blocked a punt to push the total to four blocked kicks in five games. Mount Union has blocked three punts -- all in the last three games -- along with a field goal last week at Ohio Northern.

"I thought we played more consistently on that side of the ball for the game. They (Heidelberg) made some plays against us," said Kehres. "The second half, however, we were as good as we have been this year. The changes we made were very minor on defense."

The offensive mindset remained the same with a little bit of a twist.

Senior running back Bradley Mitchell finished with 26 carries for 133 yards -- his fifth straight 100-yard game -- but definitely was the focal point of Heidelberg's defense as they stacked the line of scrimmage to slow him down. Heidelberg penetrated on the edges to take away the outside but that only opened up the middle for Aaron to bowl his way to a career afternoon.

The 5-7, 185-pound senior had personal bests with 15 carries for 84 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

"You just have to be ready," said the soft-spoken Aaron after the game. "Our offensive line did a great job for us. They make it easy for B.J. and myself to get yards. The holes they open for us definitely makes it much easier. They deserve all the credit."

As a team, Mount Union ran the ball 54 times for 278 yards and scored six touchdowns on the ground. Mitchell also had two scores.

"Dwayne is a hard worker who has really put in a lot of time with our program. He's a young man that has persevered his way to where he is right now," said Kehres.

Kehres stayed with his two quarterback system but modified it slightly with D'Angelo Fulford getting the start. Fulford played nearly the entire first half and finished 7-of-12 passing for 72 yards. Luke Poorman, who started the first four games, played the final two series of the first half and majority of the second half. He had a stretch where he helped the Purple Raiders score touchdowns on three of five possessions, which also included a field goal to stretch a seven-point halftime lead to 44-14 when Aaron scored his second touchdown with 8:53 left in the game.

Poorman completed 10 of his 12 attempts for 146 yards, including a 46-yarder to a wide-open Justin Hill with two minutes left in the third. Poorman also ran for a score about six minutes earlier to start the second half domination.